Collapsible shipping-crate.



G. MORGAN.

GOLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CRATE. APPLICAT ION FILED APR.24, 191s.

Patented 0015.27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

INVENTOR G EORGE MO RGAN BY %Wm A TTORIVE Y 8 THE NORRIS PETERS Cow. PHOYO'LITHO" WASHINGTON. c.

G. IS/IORGAN.

COLLAPSIBLE SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 24.1913.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2. v

INVENTOR GEORGE MORGAN Huff 7 ATTORNEYS THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTU-LI'TH WASHINGTON. D. C

G. MORGAN.

GOLLAPSIBLB SHIPPING CRATE APPLICATION FILED APRL24, 1913.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHBBT 3.

WITNESSES IIVI/EIVTOR ATTORNEYS OTO-LITHO WASHINGTON D. c.

UNITED srarns rarnn'r enrich.

GEORGE IVIORGAN, OF BiNGI-IAMTON, NEW YORK.

COLLAPSIIBLE SHIPPlfNG-CRATE.

' To all whom it may concern:

of Binghamton,

Be it known that I, GEORGE MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident in the county of Broome and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Collapsible Shipping- Crate, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to shipping crates of the collapsible typeand is designed more especially 1 for use in shipping bread, although it is adapted for other purposes where commodities are to be shipped from manufacturers or shippers to the market and the crates returned empty to the manufacturers or shippers for repeated use.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a collapsible crate which is of extremely durable and substantial design, of comparatively light weight, capable of collapsing into a compact form, and constituting when in use a perfectly sanitary receptacle closed at all points against the ingress of dust, dirt or other pollutingmatter, thereby rendering the crate especially useful for bakers and other producers shipping food products.

Another object of the invention isthe provision of a crate in which the walls are independently removable so that any wall can be renewed or repaired when necessity arises, and for this purpose the walls are connected by, a novel form of hinge connection with the bottom section of the crate.

A further object is to provide a novel wall construction in which the pieces are united by metal reinforces at the ends that serve as" hinge eyes for connecting the walls to the bottom section of the crate.

A further object of the invention is to provide a crate in which the bottom section is in the form of a shallow receptacle and in which the end and side walls fold one on top of another, thelid or cover of thecrate be ing removable fromthe wall to which it is i normally hinged when the crate is set up and applied to the bottom section to cover the down folded'walls when the crate is collapsed.

With these objects in view, and others as will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and set forth with particularity in the claims appended hereto.

Specification of Letters Patent Patented Get. 2?, 1914.

Application filed April 24,1913. Serial No. 763,423.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the crate in open or setup position, as when in use; Fig. 2 is a perspective View showing the crate collapsed; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the crate; Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse section; Fig. 5 is an enlarged horizontal section of one corner of the bottom section showing the hinge connection between one of the walls and such bottom section; Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one end of one of the end walls of the crate; Fig. 7 is an internal perspective view of one end of the bottom section; Fig.8 is a sectional view on the line's-8 of Fig. 1, showing the corner connecting brackets between adjacent walls; Fig. 9 is a View showing in perspective the various parts that go to make up one of the walls of the crate, said parts being disassociated to show the details thereof; and Fig. 10 is a plan view of one of the blanks which forms an end reinforcing element for the base or bottom section of the crate.

Referring tothe drawings, A designates the base or bottom section of the crate, l3 and B the opposite side walls, C and C the end walls, and D a lid or cover. The bottom section A comprises a bottom 1, to

' bottom section or collapsed. In order to provide a very rigid and durable structure the bottom section A is reinforced at its ends by reinforcing elements 2 which are made of sheet metal from blanks of the form shown in Fig. 10. The end portions 3 of theblanks are separated from the base portion a by right-angular notches or recesses 5, and in line with these notches the blank is creased on the dotted line 6, after, however, the blank is folded into right- I angular cross-section. The end members 3 extend upwardly at right-angles to the base member l of the reinforce 2, so that when the reinforce is fastened to the end of the base section A, the entire joint between the bottom 1 and end wall a, andbetween the sidewalls a and end wall a is covered and greatlystrengthened In 'order' to facili-' tate handling when the crate is collapsed the end walls a have shallow recesses 8 to enable the fingers to be inserted, whereby the crate can be conveniently picked up by both hands.

The sidewalls of the crate are substantially similar in construction, so thatv a, description of one wall will apply to the rest. As. shown in F ig.;9, a wall of the crate comprises a frame f of anydesired construction having openings 9 covered by canvas. 10. This piece of canvas 10 is stretched over one side of the frame f with. its edges 11 tacked to such frame. Above the frame is a bar 12" which has its under side rabbeted at. 13 to receive the top edge of the frame f, and the upper side of the bar 12 is rabbeted at 1 1 to form a ledge or shoulder 15, with,

which the lid D engages. Under the frame f is a lower stile or bar 16 which isv of substantially the same length as the frame f. The frame f and upper and lower bars 12 and 16 are arranged together, and applied to the corresponding ends are vertical U-shaped reinforcing and connecting elements 17 that are made of sheet metal and bent in such form as to slip over the ends of the frame f and lower stile 16, the upper bar 12 having a longitudinal slit 18 in each end for receiving the outer flange 19 of the reinforcing and connecting elements 17. When the elements 17 are applied theyare secured to the frame f and bars 12 and 16 by rivets or other fastenings 20. Each reinforcing and connecting element 17 has its front side or member 19 formed with an extension 21, which is bent inwardly and upwardly over the rear member so that a hinge eye 22 is formed. Since there are two reinforcing elements 17 for each, wall there will'be hinge eyes 22 at each lower corner of a wall. These hingev eyes extend clownwardly below the bottom edge of the stile 16, so, that a single rod 23 passing through the eyes with its ends engaged with the bottom section A of the crate will serve to hingedly connect the walls with such bottom section. The bar 16 may be formed with a rabbet 24' so that the joint between the frame f and such bar will be covered. to prevent, the entrance of dirt and other deleterious matter.

In orderto enable the walls of the crate to fold one on another in parallel relation the hinge rods 23 are arranged at different levels. For instance, the hinge rod for the end wall Cis close to the bottom 1 of the base sectionA, and consequently the wall C can fold. flat against such bottom. The hinge rod 23 of the wall C is higher than the hinge rOd for the opposite end wall C a distance approximately equal to the thickness of one end wall, so that the end wall G can fold down flat on the end wall C.

This relation clearly shown in 3,

whlle in Fig. 1 the hinge rods 23 for the 'walls B. and-B are arranged respectively at these openings 25 are apertures 26 in'the reinforcing elements 2 on the ends. of the section A, so that the. hinge rods 23 canbe slipped longitudinally into and. out. of. the

their ends disposed in bearing openings-25' I disposed in the wallsa and a of the bottom section A of the crate, and alining with bottom section A for the purposeof attaching or detaching thewallsof the crate... To facilitate the gripping of the hinge rods. 23 each lower stile has its lower edge cut away at 27 to enable hinge rods23 to be gripped by the fingers or by pincers.

The lid D is. adapted to be hingedly co n-i i nected with the side wall-Bvzhen the crate is set up as in Fig. 1, or with the. side wall a of the base section A when. the crate is collapsed. For this purpose hinge mem- I bers or leaves 28 are provided on the. lid B, which leaves carry pintles 29 that are adapted tobe engaged in hinge ears-or leaves 30 on the wall B or 31 on the bottom section A. A'hasp. or other suitable device, not shown, may be employed for holding the lid down in. closed position.

At. the upper corners of the walls are connecting or bracing devices E in theform of L-shaped members riveted: or otherwise. fastened to the upper corners of the side walls B and B, the ears 32 of such 'elements E being; disposed to overlap the end wallsv C and C and engage with. fixed lugs 33 on such end walls that engagein. openings 34 in the cars 32. These ears 32 permit. the end walls to withstand outward pressure while the pins or lugs 33. engaging with the ears 32 withstand. strain'on the side walls. .In. order that. the side walls can collapse into the base section A the end walls a are provided with recesses 35 to accommodate the devices E., The end. walls a" of the bottomsection A, are provided with metal plates 40, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, to form bearings for the hinge rods 23, said plates having openings 41 to receive such rods.

The crate can be conveniently moved about by being provided with runners or longitudinal strips 36 fastened to. the bot? lid tom 1 of' the section .A, the ends of said.

runners being rounded at 37. so asto readily pass over obstructions in the surface on which the crate is moved. about.

From the foregoing description. taken in,

connection'with the accompanying draw... vings, the advantages of the methodv of operation and offthe apparatus shown will. be.

readily understood bythose skilled in the art to which the inventionappertains, and

while I have described the apparatus which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent:

1. A wall element for a crate comprising a frame, bars disposed above and below the frame, and U-shaped reinforcing and connecting elements applied to the ends of theframe and ends of the bars, the lower end of each connecting element being formed into a hinge eye.

2. A wall element for a crate comprising a frame, bars disposed above and below the frame, and U-shaped reinforcing and connecting elements applied to the ends of the frame and ends of the bars, the lower end of each connecting element being formed Copies of this patent may be obtained for into a hinge eye projecting below the bottom edge of the lower bar, said lower bar having its bottom edge recessed at a point between the hinge eyes.

3. A crate comprising a bottom, horizontally disposed pivot rods mounted therein, and swinging walls connected by the said rods to the bottom, each wall comprising upper and lower bars spaced apart, a frame fitted to the said bars, and U-shaped reinforcing and connecting elements embracing the ends of the bars and frame, and said elements having their lower ends formed intio eyes for engagement with the pivot ro s.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE MORGAN.

lVitnesses C. Gr. GALE, M. A. Common.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

